Devine, Kerry: Away From Mountains (Vinyl LP)

Away From Mountains is profoundly inspired by the Fenland landscape and the stillness and history that inhabit the ancient and wild fens in the East of England. As Devine expands: “When you’re there and you're still you can hear so many different sounds, so many different layers, so I wanted to create something that sounded like that, that had the depth and the richness but also very sparse. This place comforts me, I wanted to create a kind of sound womb that the listener could come into and be comforted too.”

Recorded live in the stillness of night in an empty Northamptonshire church, the album exudes a haunting quality. Inspired by artists such as John Martyn, Devine’s ethereal vocal – which has raised comparisons to Beth Orton – is used as an instrument, interweaved with simmering strings and acoustic guitar. A self-proclaimed audiophile, Away From Mountains also includes samples of nature and sounds of human existence such as trains pulling up and old barrels being played as drums.

1. Charlston Town
2. Lines In The Landscape
3. Work You
4. Ariel
5. Holme Fen
6. Away From Mountains
   
7. Not Telling You
8. Vehicle
9. Fools That Fall
10. Closed Roads